Launching a scathing attack on the Modi government, Tharoor highlighted that Nirav Modi, was photographed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Davos.

SNS Web | New Delhi | July 20, 2018 11:39 am

Piyush Goyal. (File Photo: IANS)

Union Minister Piyush Goyal took a dig at senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday, saying he did not understand the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s foreign accent.

During a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, Tharoor had attacked the government saying there was a “significant gap” between the government’s rhetoric and action.

Launching a scathing attack on the Modi government, Tharoor highlighted that Nirav Modi, who had fled the country after allegedly duping state-run banks of crores of rupees, was photographed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Davos.

Replying to the debate on the bill, Goyal said he did not understand the “foreign English accent” of Tharoor. This was objected to by RSP member N K Premachandran, who is also Tharoor’s fellow MP from Kerala.

He came to the Congress MP’s defence, saying it was “not fair on the part of the minister” to make such a comment.

My speech on the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill (yes, the same one @PiyushGoyal couldn’t understand): https://t.co/jL4JNTzmZ0 (do see it & hear it for yourselves to see if I need speech therapy or the Minister needs a hearing aid!)

When Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar intervened in the matter, Premachandran retorted that he had every right to do so since the minister had made an observation about a member of the Opposition.

Known for his chaste English and good vocabulary, Tharoor is a two-time MP from Thiruvanathapuram in Kerala.